Emergency Closing Procedure

Guiding Principle

The development of this procedure has been guided by the belief that the university is a community and as such is normally open during periods of ordinary seasonal inclement weather. The procedure equally values the safety and lives of all students, faculty, and staff, while recognizing that we must maintain the effective operation of the university.

Faculty, staff, and students must assume responsibility for their own health and safety, as well as for their class or work responsibilities. While this frequently requires a delicate balance, each individual must be the ultimate arbiter of whether to travel to Wright State under varying conditions.

Introduction

An emergency closing of Wright State University will be implemented only under severe and extreme circumstances. All employees are expected to report to work unless they specifically hear otherwise. Every effort will be made to maintain classes. However, when weather conditions and/or a declared state of emergency due to other factors warrants, the university may delay the opening of the university or implement an emergency closing of the university.

The decision to close for a full day or to delay the opening of the university, excluding the Ervin J. Nutter Center unless specifically mentioned, should be made by 5:00 a.m. If the need to close is identified during the day, the decision will be communicated throughout the campus and through the designated media. (See Media Notification Listing). If the decision is made to close the campus, all employees and students will be notified by university officials.

Should the university be closed, the College of Nursing and Health, the School of Professional Psychology, and university libraries will also be closed. The Boonshoft School of Medicine, the Frederick A. White Center, and the Nutter Center have developed internal procedures for emergency closing. The staffs of these areas will determine their status after consultation with the appropriate university officials and event promoters (which may include WSU Athletic Department).

Consideration of Conditions

More than 16,000 students, 2,000 employees, and hundreds of auxiliary personnel must travel to Wright State from throughout the region. While 80 percent of those individuals live within 10 miles of the university, an appreciable number must travel from longer distances and on fewer well-maintained roadways. Facilities and services including Physical Plant, residence halls, and other "essential" operations must be maintained at the direction of the appropriate divisional vice president and department director. Employees of university contractors will be advised by their supervisors as to their starting time and/or reporting status.

If the weather conditions are such or are anticipated to be such, to merit consideration for altering the operations of the university, the following procedure will be followed:

1) In the event of a severe winter snow storm or ice storm, or tornado that could affect student access to the university, the provost or designee will have the final authority to make the decision to cancel classes or close the university.

2) Decisions will be based on information gathered on weather conditions from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the local police agencies surrounding the main campus (Fairborn, Beavercreek, Dayton, and Huber Heights), and local transportation agencies (RTA), from official weather reports and forecasts, and from WSU physical facilities and university police offices.

3) The provost will be advised of this information in consultation with the vice president for business and fiscal affairs and the vice president for student affairs and enrollment services. The provost, followed by the vice president for business and fiscal affairs, followed by the vice president for student affairs and enrollment services, followed by the vice president for university advancement will assume leadership responsibility for determining whether or not the campus will be closed, classes delayed, etc. If the provost and vice presidents are away from campus, the provost will appoint a university official to make the final decisions regarding campus operations.

4) Decisions concerning canceling classes or closing the Lake Campus in Celina-St. Marys will be made by the dean of that campus who will follow the same closing/cancellation and communication procedure as the main campus. Also, decisions concerning the Boonshoft School of Medicine, the Center for Performance Excellence, the Cox Institute, the Frederick A. White Center, the Ellis Institute, the Research Park offices, and the Yellow Springs Family Practice Center will be made individually by the administrative offices of each facility, after consultation with the provost.

5) The provost, or designee, retains the sole prerogative for altering the operations of the university due to inclement weather.

Communication

In the event of inclement weather, refer to the university Web site or listen to the following stations for information. Individuals also may call the Information Booth Line, (937) 775-5740, or the general university number, (937) 775-3500, for further information. PLEASE NOTE: Employees and students are requested not to call Wright State Police Department - their lines must be kept open for emergency use.

When the provost or designee has closed or delayed the opening of the university, the following individuals will be notified by the provost or designee. These individuals will be responsible for notifying the staff and faculty who report to them in the following order and within 30 minutes of the decision:

1) provost and vice presidents of all divisions
2) Director of Physical Plant
3) Chief of University Police
4) Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications

The associate vice president of marketing and communications, or designee, will be responsible for communicating the decision to the local media and will be responsible for establishing effective communication messages with the media. The associate vice president of marketing and communications will contact university police and the Office of Student Life to issue the message concerning the status of campus operations. The associate vice president of marketing and communications will publish, at least once annually, the call letters of all broadcast media that will be contacted.

In addition, the university's telephone message systems will be coordinated with identical information so that individuals may call the university to determine the status of the operations of the university. These telephone numbers will be widely publicized in the fall and winter quarters of each year. Messages will be recorded by the offices responsible for those telephone numbers.

Telephone chains within each division are strongly recommended to make certain that all faculty and staff are aware of the status of operations during inclement weather. These procedures should be developed and reviewed no later than November 1 of each academic year.

Emergency Closing During Inclement Weather

In the event of inclement weather, refer to the university Web site or listen to the following stations for information. Individuals also may call the Information Booth Line, (937) 775-5740, or the general university number, (937) 775-3333, for further information. PLEASE NOTE: Employees and students are requested not to call the Wright State Police Department -- their lines must be kept open for emergency use.

• The winter quarter class schedules and the winter editions of the university's internal publication will contain a synopsis of the Emergency Closing Procedures and a list of the call letters of media that will be notified of university information.

• Supervisors are responsible for assuring that full-time, part-time, temporary, and student employees are aware of and understand the general university procedure and internal, departmental procedure for emergency closing.

• Departments with operations involving external groups ( e.g., contractors, food
  service, etc.) will communicate with these groups the action the university is taking. Academic deans will be responsible for off-campus activities, (e.g., Center for Performance Excellence, Ellis Institute, Cox Heart Institute, clinicals, etc.) and will develop and implement effective procedures for operating, decision making, and communicating with all individuals concerning opening and closing these facilities.

• As a general rule, when the university is closed, such activities as music and theatre performances, intramural activities, club meetings, student cinema, etc. are cancelled. Intercollegiate athletics and events booked at the Nutter Center are the responsibility of the athletic director and the Nutter Center general manager, respectively.

• More than 12,000 people may patronize an event at the Nutter Center, and many of these individuals may be traveling from other states. Also, many of these events are held in the evenings or on weekends. Therefore, the Nutter Center administration must evaluate circumstances other than those which may cause the closing of the university. As needed, the Nutter Center's events that need to be either canceled or delayed will be announced via the media.

• "Essential personnel" are defined by each department in consultation with divisional vice presidents.

• Bearing in mind that safety of all Wright State University students and employees is the most critical determinant, students and employees will be responsible for assessing their own risk and evaluating the weather conditions in making the decision to travel to the university and/or its affiliated locations. Vacation time will be used by these employees who are unable to travel to the university.

Inclement Weather Messages

The following messages will be used in communicating to the media concerning the status of the university during weather emergencies. These messages also will be used for the Information Booth Line and the general university telephone line.

1) University Closed:

Wright State University is closed today __________ (date), due to inclement weather. All classes are canceled, and all university offices and libraries are closed. Faculty and staff should not report to work.

2) Late Classes/Late Offices:

Wright State University will be closed until __________ (time) today __________ (date). Classes scheduled to begin before __________ (time) are canceled. Faculty and staff should report to work at __________ (time).

3) Cancellation of Evening and Weekend Classes and Activities:

Wright State university classes and activities scheduled to begin at or after _______ (time) are canceled for today _______ (date). university libraries also will be closed.

4) Cancellation of Nutter Center Events:

The __________scheduled for Wright State University's Ervin J. Nutter Center at (time) has been canceled. Listen for an announcement of rescheduling of this event.

Operational Definitions

A. University Closed - This normally results from area policing agencies declaring travel emergencies and advising people to remain at home. If this level seems likely, WSU should be prepared to anticipate such police actions and close in time to allow people safe travel home or in time to prevent them from leaving home for the university.

B. Delay of university Opening - This approach should be used when weather conditions are very treacherous during morning hours due to ice, snow, fog, etc., but are expected to improve considerably, or the ability of road crews to improve travel conditions will improve considerably.

Note: Specific units that provide services for residential students, or services essential for ongoing operations and protection of the university must advise their employees of required responses during university closings.

Administration

• Faculty, unclassified and classified employees will receive regular pay for time associated with an emergency closing. Unclassified employees who do work during a general closing will receive no additional compensation.

• Classified employees, excluding student employees, who are not required to work during a closing, will receive regular pay for regular shift hours associated with the closing.

• Designated emergency personnel are only those employees necessary to protect resident students and to maintain operations at the Physical Plant. Designated employees include appointed maintenance, custodial, grounds, and HVAC personnel; telephone services personnel; animal laboratory technicians; police officers; and residence halls' offices and services. These employees are considered essential to the operation of the university and will be notified in advance that they are expected to come to work in the event of a general closing.

• Employees who are on leave when a general closing is designated will not have that leave time reinstated.

• Faculty are expected to make up lost time in classes with their students.

• If the university area must be evacuated due to critical or a disastrous situation, all buildings and the entire campus area are off limits to everyone EXCEPT designated emergency personnel. No other personnel or students will be permitted to remain on campus.

Revised and approved by the President's Cabinet

Guidelines for Weather-Related Delays or Closings

If one or more of the following conditions exist, the provost or designee will consider delaying the opening of the university or closing the university:

1. If Greene county is under a level two or a level three snow emergency, students and employees should assume that there is a delay in opening and possibly a closing of the university. Students and employees should refer to local media or the university Web site for specific instructions.

2. Other local colleges and universities are closed (Sinclair Community College, University of Dayton, Wilberforce University, Central State University, Clark State Community College).

3. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is closed or on a delay.